Saving You
by MakorraLove97
Summary: The only thing running through Max's mind that moment was that she had to save him. She knew Mike was acting on emotions and revenge; he's not thinking clearly. She had to protect him. She had to protect him of himself, no matter of the outcome. She was going to be there for him, 'til the end. She was going to save him and only then does he realize how much he truly cares for her.


**Hi everyone! How's it going? :) So! Here's another one-shot on _The Following_ of Mike-X-Max! I really hope you like it, please enjoy. :)**

**I also want to thank everyone very much for reviewing on my last Maxton fanfic, I'm really glad you all liked the story. And thank you so much to _SarahJ676_, for all your ideas! I _do_ take _prompts _and I will most definitely be using them in the nearby future and all credit will definitely go to you.  
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***And just a heads up, this is basically a re-write of_"The Reaping"_in Season two (episode 13) of _The Following_. The dialogue is not the exact as the show, keep in mind as well! I highly recommend you watch that episode before reading it.**

_**Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it, I would gladly appreciate it; all opinions are welcomed. :)**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_Saving You_"

**. . .**

When her wide, panic-filled, cerulean color eyes landed on him, the only thing she thought about at that moment was: _She had to save him._

Max Hardy knew he was acting rash and based on emotions and she knew that, technically, he had every right to pull that damn trigger. Hell, if she were the one that watched Lily Gray slice her father's neck and videotaped it, giving them no notice and not even a chance to save him, yeah, she would pull the trigger herself.

The thing is, as much as the idea sounds good, finally putting a bullet through Lily Gray and ending her miserable life, it was _wrong_. It was so right, but so wrong and Max couldn't watch Mike do it. She couldn't watch him pull the trigger and destroy his own life because quite honestly, by doing this, it would solve nothing. It wouldn't bring his father back, it wouldn't bring back all the lives Lily Gray stole; it wouldn't change anything. It _might_ bring satisfaction to Mike for a few minutes, but that's merely it.

She had to save him. She had to save him from Lily Gray and from himself.

"Mike, put the gun down." Max says calmly, but firmly while she takes a small step forwards. She stares at him with warning eyes as she shakes her head, "This isn't going to solve anything and you know it."

"This isn't you, Mike." Ryan speaks up as he holds onto his gun tightly in one hand. He looks over at his friend and then he glances down at Lily, who has her hands raised and she's on her knees. He lowers his gun so it's facing the ground and he adds in a soft tone as he shrugs one shoulder, "It's me. Don't do this to yourself."

Mike is struggling to hold back his tears as he keeps the gun in his hand with a tight grip as he keeps it pointed directly at Lily. "She murdered my father." The tears are burning in his eyes and his voice is on the verge of cracking, "She deserves this!"

"You're absolutely right." Max says with a sharp nod, "She deserves to have a bullet embedded in her skull or wherever her heart is supposed to be, if she even has one." Ryan looks at her with his eyebrows furrow together, but she pays no attention to her Uncle. She knows what she is doing… she hopes.

"The thing is," She says as she takes another step closer to them, now standing a few inches behind Lily, "_you_ don't _deserve_ to waste your life because of her. I know you think this idea is fantastic and it'll solve everything, but just think about it. You kill her and then what? You're destroying who you are!"

"Who I am? Max, you don't even have a clue." He says bitterly as he shakes his head, "I need this. I need to do this for myself and for my dad."

She wasn't giving up. She wasn't giving up on _him_. She throws her arms up in the air and asks with a humorless laugh, "Oh yeah? You really think for one moment that your father would want you to turn into someone you're not? You're not some cold, heartless killer like she is! Like Joe Carroll is! You're not that person!"

Lily raises an eyebrow as she looks up at Mike, but remains silent. He wouldn't shoot her; he _couldn't_ do it. When silence emerges, settling in around them as a cold wind passes through, she offers him a fake, sweet smile, "Listen to her. Just put the gun down and take me away into custody."

"Shut up!" Mike yells at her, his voice finally breaking, "Just shut up!"

"Mike!" Max has to get his attention back to her. Lily is baiting him and if she continues, there will be no stopping him in pulling that trigger of that gun. "Mike, look at me." It takes several minutes, but his eyes eventually flicker up to reconnect with hers. "Do you seriously want to be like her? You're better than that."

Ryan nods his head slowly, "Just let me take her into custody and this whole thing could be over. She'll get what she deserves."

"She deserves a lot more than a God damn prison cell, Ryan! My dad's dead because of _her_!" Mike screams with venom spilling out of his mouth, "Maybe her children will get to experience the same amount of agonizing pain I go through every single day when I think of my dad and what _she_ did to him!"

Max glances over her shoulder at her Uncle and then she looks back at Mike with a sympathetic look plastered on her face, "Nothing is going to change if you kill her. You will still be grieving and your dad would not want you to become a cold-blooded killer. You are not that person and you can't just let her change that about you."

"You're wrong, Max. I used to be a good person. I used to. Not anymore though." He whispers, his voice dying down on his last few words. He shakes his head as a single tear leaks out of his right eye. "I have to."

Something stirs inside of Max and she can feel her own eyes burning with fresh tears. She feels horrible for what Mike is going through and as much as she wants to watch Lily Gray bleed to death… she couldn't. She needed to stop him before he made the worst decision in his life.

He may not care to admit it now, but she knows once he pulls that trigger and kills her, the Mike Weston everyone knows, that everyone cares about, the Mike Weston that Ryan calls his best friend and partner, and the Mike Weston that she grew feelings for and actually came to… -_love_?- will no longer be there. That Mike Weston would be long gone and she couldn't let that happen.

Of course, she didn't think it through and acted on whatever instincts she was feeling at the spur of the moment.

"Mike, no!" Max screams out to him; her eyes burning holes into his own, but he sadly just shakes his head and pulls the trigger.

The moments after all went by in a flash, but to her, it seemed like it was going in slow motion. Everything was happening at once, but so painfully slow. She honestly didn't even understand what was going on until it was all over, none of them did until then.

Max places both of her hands on Lily's shoulder and she shoves her so the woman stumbles to the ground, her face slapping against the cold ground. The gun shot rings through all of their ears, but the only thing that processes through her mind next is Ryan and Mike's piercing screams.

As Max pushes Lily out of the way, the bullet comes directly towards her and goes straight into her shoulder. She screams at the excruciating pain as she falls to the ground, clenching her left shoulder. Her blood seeps through her fingers and paints her hand crimson as her breathing heavily increases.

"Max!" All she hears is her name being shouted out, but she can't figure out who's shouting her name. Mike, Ryan… probably both. Her eyes flutter close as she clenches her jaw; she does her best to ignore the pain, but her shoulder is burning with pain.

Her eyelids slide open when she feels someone kneel beside her. She swallows hard and glances upwards- her eyes immediately connecting with Mike's worried blue hues. She feels him grip her hand and watches as he places his other hand on her shoulder, right on top of her blood soaked hand.

"I am so, _so_ sorry, Max." He whispers to her as he glances at Ryan, who is already on the phone, calling for help. Mike looks down at her pale face and tears burst from his eyes, "You're going to be okay. I promise you're going to be okay."

She says nothing although her shoulder continues to burn and insides are twisting and turning, forming painful knots. Her body is shaking and her vision begins to blur, Mike's face slowly fading away. She opens her mouth to say something –to say _anything_-, but her voice betrays her while black dots now cloud her vision.

A painful groans manages to escape her lips and as she turns her head to the side, that's when she mentally realizes her head is resting on Mike's lap. Vaguely, she can hear his voice still talking to her, but she can't make out what he is saying. She can feel herself slipping away into unconsciousness and for once, she doesn't put up a fight.

In the background, beyond Mike's talking, she can hear another shot ring out, but before she can see what happened, everything blackens.

* * *

Ryan glares at Mike from across the room as he folds his arms neatly across his chest and says not a word. Mike glances up to meet Ryan's angry glare and then he quickly looks back down at Max's pale face.

As Ryan is leaning against the wall on one side of the room, Mike is sitting beside Max's bed, not daring to say a word. The entire way to the hospital Ryan looked fiercely at him; anger and flames burning in his eyes as veins popped out. Mike could practically feel the way Ryan's blood is boiling with rage at the situation.

Ryan Hardy may be worried for his niece, but his anger stands out the most.

"Look, Ryan-" Mike finally tries to say something to his friend, but Ryan beats him to it, "Don't, Mike. Just don't."

"I didn't mean-" He tries again, but just like the last time, Ryan stops him with a cold, hard tone, "I don't care."

The silence returns to the room and it is as deafening as ever. The two of them refused to make eye connect; both finding it best to keep their eyes glued to Max, who is recovering from surgery.

After a few minutes passes by, Ryan clears his throat, "You're my best friend." More silence. "But if something were to happen to her…" He shakes his head, "I would have killed you."

"Don't worry, I would have killed myself." Mike mutters under his breath, but Ryan simply shakes his head and adds in full seriousness, "No, _I_ would have killed you."

"Right." Mike whispers as his fingers latch onto Max's hand. He sighs as he feels Max's cold hand, it feeling so limp in his own. Tears threaten to spill and this time, he doesn't bother to hold them back. He allows them to slide down his cheeks as he watches Max lay her as still as a statue.

"She should make a full recovery." Ryan sighs. He shakes his head as his gaze drops to the floor, "I don't understand what the hell she was doing."

"Do you think she's going to be angry when she wakes up?" Mike asks as he pushes a few pieces of hair out of her face with his free hand.

"Yes."A hoarse, shaky voice comes out and answers his question.

Mike and Ryan both quickly look up at Max's face and slowly they watch her eyelids slide open. They watch her face scrunch up as pain shoots through her body and as she tries to sit up, she immediately winces.

"Oh, thank God you're okay." Ryan breathes out a sigh of relief as the corners of his mouth twitch up into a small smile.

Max smiles up at her Uncle and instead of commenting on what he said, her smile turns into a smirk, "Y-You look like hell." She glances at Mike for a brief second before quickly turning her gaze away to look back up at Ryan, "You both do."

Ryan rolls his eyes, but keeps the crooked grin on his face, "Yeah, well, you should see what you look like."

"Ryan?" Mike asks his partner quietly, "Can you… can you give us, um, a few minutes? Alone?"

Ryan bright, icy blue eyes flicker between his niece and Mike, unsure if he should leave them alone or not. He opens his mouth to protest, but when his cell phone begins to ring, he sighs, "I'll be right outside."

She watches her Uncle walk outside the hospital room, leaving her and Mike Weston completely alone and in dead silence. She swallows hard, not knowing exactly what to say to him and he mirrors her actions, not knowing what to say to her.

"Lily Gray's dead." Mike whispers, his eyes fastened on his boots. He can feel her gaze on him instantly after his statement and he can already figure out what she is thinking. "I didn't kill her."

"Then what happened?" Max asks quietly, her eyes turning away from him and flickering down at her hands. His hand long left hers, the second she woke up, and deep down, she was disappointed.

"After you got… shot… I dropped the gun and ran over to you. When I dropped the gun and everything went crazy, Lily picked up the gun. She went to shoot me, but Ryan shot her in the head first." He tells her quietly.

"So, you got what you wanted, yeah?" She shakes her head as a sarcastic chuckle leaves her mouth, "That's good."

"Max, pleas-" He tries to say, but she whips her head around to stare at him with raised eyebrows, "What? You should have trusted me."

"What the hell were you even thinking, anyways?" Mike asks as he throws his hands up in the air, "I mean, why on Earth would you try to save her? Why-"

"I did it to save you, not her!" Max lets out a frustrated huff, "I wasn't trying to save _her_, I was trying to save _you_, Mike."

He opened his mouth to continue on, but once she said that, he froze. "_What?_" He mentally asks himself as her words repeat continuously in his head. _I wasn't trying to save her, I was trying to save you, Mike._

She shakes her head as she blinks back the oncoming tears, "I didn't want you to destroy yourself because of revenge." She finally looks at him, but he continues to stare down, not wanting to meet her gaze. "I was saving you from yourself."

When a few moments go by and he says nothing in return, she bites down on her lip. She takes a deep breath and goes to open her mouth to say something, probably to take back what she said, but he stops her.

As he finally looks up and looks her in the face, staring her in the eyes, she can see all the pain swimming in his ocean color eyes. She can feel his heart breaking for several reasons. She can feel a tear slide down her cheek as she reaches out to grab onto his hand. He needed her. She needed him. It was as simple as that.

"I'm sorry." He whispers, his eyes never leaving hers as he uses his free hand to stroke her cheek. "I'm sorry I shot you."

"Hey, that's why they're called accidents. You don't need to say you're sorry." The corners of her mouth turn upwards into a smile, but he shakes his head. Her eyebrows furrow together, "What? I'm fine. Oh, come on! It was just a simple bullet to the shoulder, I-"

"I should have trusted you. I should have trusted your judgment. When you told me to put down the gun and take her into custody, I should have listened. It would have been for the best and you wouldn't be here…" His voice trails off and automatically he can feel her hand tighten its grip on his. He smiles at her, "You're lucky the bullet didn't do much damage, you know."

"Technically, you're the one who's lucky, considering my Uncle would literally have killed you otherwise." She's just joking with him, he knows that, but deep inside, he still feels a pang of guilt.

"Listen, Max, I'm really-" He goes to say, but she snaps, "You say you're sorry one more time and I'll seriously shoot you in the shoulder." He shuts his mouth instantly and watches her grin at him as a soft chuckle leaves passed her lips.

Mike looks at her bandage shoulder and then he looks at her face; he always knew she was beautiful, he just doesn't understand why it took him this long to truly look at her. The way her sapphire eyes sparkle, her chocolate brown hair frames her face perfectly, her young facial features, her perfect lips...

"You're staring." She comments with a grin then laughs when he blinks at her, confused, probably didn't even realize it.

He leans back in his chair and keeps a firm grip on her hand as his other hand rubs the back of his neck. "If there's anything I could get you or make it up to you-"

"You do know that all is forgiven, right?" She says, but then adds with a mischievous smile and a hint of playfulness shining in her eyes, "_However_, if you want to perhaps break me out of this hell-hole and get me out of here, by all means."

He laughs and, to her dismay, he shakes his head, "I don't think so. You need your rest and besides, Ryan would probably kill me."

She pouts and rolls her eyes at him- just like a small child would when they didn't get their way. "You're no fun."

He glances down at their joint hands and he can feel his stomach turn. _They always had a connect, just why now did it take him so long to see what that connection was?_ He sucks in a deep breath, but before he could say anything, she says softly, "You're going to be okay. I know it's hard to believe… but you will. Ryan's here for you and so am I and eventually this whole cult thing will be over so we can have our lives back. I know you may not believe me now, but I know for a fact that you're still Mike Weston. You're still that fun-loving guy who loves saving people… loves helping people. You may have wanted to kill Lily Gray in cold blood, but who wouldn't after what she's done? You're still you. I promise you, you're still a good person."

He swallows hard; he swallows around the burning lump that planted itself in the center of his throat. He tries to keep his emotions in check, but it's not working. Everything that happened, that's going on, is just too much for him and he's breaking. He can't hold in everything anymore, it's all too much. He closes his eyes and tries to steady his breathing, but the tears are forming again and his emotions are twisting inside of him, burning to burst out.

She didn't mind his bone-crushing hold on her hand, she wanted to be there for him. She wants to help him through this. He knows it and that's what's making him go insane. He hurt her, he didn't trust her, he didn't listen to her and because of that, he got her shot. And, instead of running away and giving up on him, here she is, lying in a hospital bed, because of him, and still trying to help him; still trying to save him.

Max waits patiently for him to say something. She lets him take his time and gather himself together. He's been beating himself up nonstop and he's been trying to hide how he felt. He didn't want to talk about anything and he just wanted to move on when he should be grieving. Now, he can be himself. Now, he could let everything out because she's willing to listen, to help him, like she always is.

Mike shakes his head and he decides that what he wants to say, words won't do it justice. He looks up at her and Max sees something in his eyes she hasn't seen before. Before she can question it, he jumps out of his seat and covers her mouth with his own.

He lets go of her hand and instead, cups her face with the palms of his hands. He has his eyes squeezed shut as he presses his lips against her own in a desperate and needy kiss. It isn't slow and passionate, it is hungry and full of lust and desire.

At first, her eyes shot wide open, but as the kiss went on, she slowly closes her eyes and uses her good arm to wrap around the back of his neck. Her hand travels from the back of his neck to rest gently on his stubble cheek.

"Max…" He breathes out when they part for a split second for air, but he lips quickly finds hers once again. He can almost hear his heart thundering in his chest as he deepens the kiss, sliding his tongue along her lips.

He cares about her. No, screw it, he _loves_ her. He probably wouldn't say it out loud to her, scared that it would be too soon and scare her away, but the feeling is surely there.

She smiles into the kiss as she opens her mouth long enough for him to slide his tongue in and immediately their tongues dance around one another. Her hand slides to his hair and she pulls him down to deepen the kiss, causing him to smile against her lips.

When the pain starts traveling through her shoulder as the painkillers start to die down, she winces. Mike breaks off the kiss instantly and searches her eyes, "Are you alright?"

Max stares up at him without saying a word for a few moments, trying to catch her breath. Slowly she nods her head and licks her swollen lips, "Yeah… I'm fine. My shoulder just stings a little."

"I can go get a doc-" He begins, but she stops him by pressing her lips against his own in one quick movement. His eyebrows go up, but he doesn't protest as his hand gently caresses her check.

As they both continue to share a sweet, passionate kiss with each other, neither one of them realized the person standing in the doorway, not looking very happy.

"Did I miss something here?" Ryan clears his throat and asks as he watches them both jump apart. "Because when I left, you both weren't on 'making-out' terms."

Mike sinks back into his chair and looks down at his boots while Max looks down at her hands as a blush creeps its way onto her pale cheeks. Neither one of them says anything, but Ryan can see the childish, guilty grins on both of their faces.

"You know what, I think it's best if I don't ask at all."Ryan shakes his head and sighs. He knew a while ago this would most likely happen; he saw the way they were forming a bond and, despite the rocky start, they shared a strong connection.

"Ryan?" Max asks sweetly as she bites back a laugh, "Can you do me a favor?" When he raises an eyebrow at her, she takes that as her cue to continue, "Can you go and get me some real food and real coffee? Hospital food sucks."

"If that's your way of telling me to leave you both alone so you could continue…" He lifts his hand up and makes awkward, circle movements with his hand, "_that_… I'm leaving." He turns to leave, but before he goes, he calls over his shoulder, "I'll be back in a few hours to check on you, Max."

She only nods as she watches her Uncle leave the hospital room with a shake to the head and mumbling something that she doesn't even want to know. She turns to look at Mike, who is trying to hold back his own laughter.

"Well, that was…" Mike tries to find the right words, but his voice dies down, not knowing exactly what to call what just happened.

"Awkward?" Max laughs as her hand slowly laces with Mike's fingers. The two of them stare at each other, neither saying a word and staying in deep silence, until out of nowhere, they both start laughing.

"Yeah… awkward." Mike chuckles then presses gentle kiss to her hand; his stubble tickling her skin. "So, why don't you get some rest and I'll, um, come by later and check on you?"

She didn't even realize how tired she really is until he mentioned it. Her eyelids feel heavy and she has to hold back her yawn. "Wait!"He looks at her, already standing up and ready to leave. "Can you… stay?"

He only smiles in response to that before saying in a soft whisper, "Move over." She nods her head, a grin plastered on her face, as she slides over on the bed to give him some room. He lies down beside her and opens his arm so she can rest her good side against his body. She immediately snuggles her head against his chest as her eyes begin to fall.

"Thank you." She quietly says as he simply responds by pressing a tender kiss on the top of her head. It doesn't take long before she falls asleep in his arms; his arms securely around her petite body, keeping her safe and warm in his arms.

He's not sorry Lily Gray is dead, but he is glad that Max was there to help him or, like she said, save him from himself. He probably would one day regret killing her in cold-blood, even if it _was_ a bitch like Lily Gray who deserved it. He's not that kind of person and Max reminded him of that today.

Mike closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as he tries to catch up on some hours of desperate-needed sleep. And, for once in a very long time, sleep comes easy to him and nightmares don't plague his dreams.

For once, he falls asleep with a smile on his face and his cheek resting on the top of her head. Then, later when Ryan came back to check on them and saw them in this position, he's not annoyed or even shocked. He's happy for them. They need this. They need someone to depend on through this living nightmare of Joe Carroll's games and Lily Gray's madness.

The corners of Ryan's mouth twitch up in a small smile as he watches the two of them and choosing not to disturb their sleep, he turns around and exits the room. He walks out of the hospital, gets in his car, and speeds down the road; having a specific destination in mind.

During this craziness, they all need someone. Mike needs Max, Max needs Mike, and Ryan realizes he needs Claire, despite how he keeps telling her he doesn't need or want her help and she should just stay hidden and out of the FBI's way.

His niece and Mike showed him that everyone needs saving and thankfully, the two of them are always there for each other. Which is good, because Ryan has a feeling that throughout the rest of the journey with Joe Carroll's crazy, sick, and twisted mind games, they'll be needing each other more than ever, then, hopefully when it's all over, they can really start their lives together.

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**_Author's Note_: Well, that'd be it! I really hope you enjoyed it and it was good. :) Thank you so much for reading, it really means a lot and please, if you can, leave a comment letting me know your thoughts on it. Thank you! ^_^**


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